Chopped All-Stars Begins: We Chat With the Round 1 Runner-Up

Related To:

Tonight an all-new season of
Chopped All-Stars began, and what better way to kick things off than pitting Food Network stars against their Cooking Channel counterparts? Stars dashed to deliver dishes before the clock ran out, and competitors bumped into each other, putting one chef’s dish at risk. Needless to say there was no shortage of drama.

If you missed the show and recorded it, don’t read any further — FN Dish is about to break down the episode and chat with the runner-up.

Jeff Mauro is the newest
Burger Bash champ and the undoubted Sandwich King, but he couldn't take the heat in the
Chopped kitchen today — he lost to Sunny Anderson in the dessert round.

What was it like competing against your fellow peers?

JM: It was fun. I love Sunny Anderson. She is my Food Network best friend, and we get along splendidly. She makes me laugh, I make her laugh. So it works out perfectly. We bonded immensely after this round of
Chopped. Nadia G. is also a character and fun to be around. Gabriele is a hoot with no filter, which I can always appreciate.

Which basket did you have the most trouble with?

JM: That's a good question. Each basket had a troubling ingredient in it to me. Maybe that first basket in the appetizer round with the banana bread — and that banana bread — and that banana bread. Do you see where I'm going with this? It tripped me up. I still went in thinking "sandwiches," and I think I made a dainty, elegant plate. That was my goal out of the gate. I didn't want to create an appetizer that would blow their palate out immediately.

Did you go into this competition thinking you'd be making three sandwiches?

JM: I wanted to go in inspired by sandwiches. And everything was inspired by a sandwich, whether it was the tartine or the meat inside the pierogi. My last dish was made with chips, and that's a sandwich's best friend. I always have to represent the sandwich.

Was there any one ingredient you've never worked with before?

JM: The vegetable terrine and galangal. Everything else I've met along the way.

Do you think Food Network Star helped you prepare for this?

JM: Oh, yes.
Food Network Star helped me prepare for this competition because I'm used to this process now. But it might be a hindrance, as well, because it kind of puts me back in that place where I don't want to ever go again! It raises the fear and anxiety levels and you're like, "Hey, I don't want to be doing this right now — I'm nervous, I'm anxious, I'm going to blow it." It's a double-edged sword. But I'll always be grateful to
Star.

Going along with that, then, would you do this again? This is your second time in the Chopped kitchen.Is the third time a charm?

JM: Absolutely not. I'm done! I think I've satisfied my
Chopped craving. I think I did good; I showcased a lot of techniques today. I'm more than happy doing
Sandwich King and
$24 in 24.

This is an All-Star competition, so who are some of your personal all-stars that you look up to?

JM:Geoffrey Zakarian, which made today even harder because he was a judge on the show. I just have a revolving image of him in my head. When he competes on
Chopped or
Iron Chef America, he always has the cleanest station. I keep that in my head. You start off with a clean station, but it's hard to end up that way. So he's definitely my inspiration.

Cooking for Real and Home Made in America hostess with the mostess Sunny Anderson is just one step closer to earning $50,000 for her charity, N Street Village, after winning the first round of Chopped All-Stars. Read her exclusive interview.